Finland would not have won World Cup medals with any composition. No woman is even close to the talent of the Swedish star, writes Santtu Silvennoinen from Planica.
Jasmi Joensuu (left) and Krista Pärmäkoski’s bet was enough to finish sixth in the free pair relay at the World Championships in Planica on Sunday. PASI LEISMA
Jasmi Joensuu was jewelry and muse, as the current Mr. Toni Roponen of the Olympic Committee would say.
Joensuu’s thigh became unreasonably sour during his second skiing turn of Sunday’s double relay, and the final acid attack hit on the last stroke. Finland fell 15.6 seconds behind the top trio in the free World Cup pair relay before the anchor leg.
Krista Pärmäkoski had nothing to do. It seems that it doesn’t matter to him whether Finland finishes fourth, fifth or sixth. Pärmäkoski lost 22 seconds to the winner in the final stage. Finland finished sixth, 38 seconds later than Sweden’s golden duo.
The free pair relay is a form of competition where the shortcomings of Finnish skiing come to the fore: there is no muscle endurance, and no speed endurance. The problems with Wassberg technology are obvious when compared to the best in the sport.
Jonna Sundling made a wild change of rhythm in the anchor section and sealed the gold medal. No Finn comes close to the characteristics of the Swedish star.
Before Sunday’s event, there was speculation as to whether Kerttu Niskanen and Krista Pärmäkoski would be the Finnish pair. Would Finland have won a medal with this duo?
No.
Sweden and the USA were clearly ahead beforehand. Norway skied better than expected.
The sixth place reflects the level of Finnish figure skating. If the Russians had been involved, the ranking would have slipped one lower.